Trant



(No Model.)

L. VAN VESTRANT. RBTORT CHARGING APPARATUS.

No. 450,688. Patented Apr. 21, 1891.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LUDOVICO VAN YESTRANT, OF SOU HALL, ENGLAND.

RETORT-CHARGING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent hie-450,688, dated April 21, 1891.

Application filed August 18, 1890. Serial No. 362,343. (No model.) Patented in England uly 12, 1890, No. 10,831.

To coZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, LUDOVIOO VAN VES- TRANT, civil engineer, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at The Green, Southall, in the county of Middlesex, in England, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Means and Apparatus for Charging Inclined Carbonizing-Retorts, (for which I have made application for a patent in Great Britain, No. 10,831, bearing date July 12, 1 890,) of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to effect the charging of retorts for carbonizing with the required amount of material in an even layer when the said retorts are built at an angle deviating from the horizontal and vertical line. I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a vertical section showing the retorts cl with the hopper a on the carriage b delivering the material down the flap G into the mouth of the lower retort. Hoppers at various heights supported from above on rails e e or otherwise are described by dotted lines. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the hopper and carriage. Fig. 3 is a side elevation.

My invention consists of a hopper a, 0011- structed of any suitable material and of capacity equal to the total charge, this hopperto be in the form of a vertical tube, or the form being varied in width and length as may be necessary for the material and charge, the bottom end or the Whole of the hopper reduced to the width of the entrance to retort. I provide a falling bottom 7i), hinged at l and Z, or at back end, which fall is adjustable by suitable stops, (not shown,) which can be raised or lengthened by levers (not shown) or the chains 3 over the pulleys i, as the angle of bottom is required to vary the velocity of the issuing material. On the bottom 713 being dropped, the front of hopper is opened by the flap c falling forward to engage with the entrance of retort and forms a continuation of the bottom of the hopper and delivers the material from the hopper to the retort as it escapes from the bottom of the hopper. The flap c and bottom It are closed by the chains and the rings R on the ends fastened on hooks II in the frame. (Indicated in Fig. 2.) The front of hopper has a slide it, which can be raised or lowered to control the rate of issue of material when the front is dropped open. In Fig. 2 the month an is shown, through which the material passes out into the retort. The hopper is carried in or on a rectangular or other shaped frame I), which can run on wheels on the floor or be suspended on wheels from above, as shown in Fig. 1, and guided therein by chains, links, or bars, so as to be lifted or lowered tothe heights of the respective retorts, the said raising or lowering to be performed by any of the usual means. The frame and hopper can be supported on a traveling frame on wheels above or below the front of the retort, so as to be movable from the supply of material to the mouth of retort.

Vhen it is desired to charge'a retort, the frame containing the hopper is taken to the store-supply and filled with the requisite amount of material, from thence wheeled to the front of retort after being adjusted to the desired height, so as to allow the requisite velocity of the issuing material to obtain even distribution over the floor or base of retort, and this can be varied to suit the varying classes of material and the coefficient of friction due to the material, the floor of retort, and the inclination from the horizontal line of same byincreasing or decreasing the angle of the bottom of hopper. The bottom 7.: is then lowered and the front delivery 0 opened and the issuing material allowed to gravitate into the retort, when the hopper is withdrawn, the retort closed, and the bottom 75 and flap C readjusted and the same operation repeated on the next retort.

It will be understood that the foregoing is given by way of illustration only, and that the shapes, materials, and proportions of the various parts may be varied in many ways of the hopper to regulate the how of mate- Within the scope of my invention. rial therefrom, substantially as set forth.

lVhat I claim and desire to secure by Let- T Y T T 1 ters Patent of the United States, is V LUDOVIOO X ESTRANI' 5 A retort charger comprising a wheeled Witnesses:

frame, a hopper supported thereby and hziv- W. M. KIGHT, ing an adjustable bottom, a flap pivoted to OLIVER R. JOHNSON,

the bottom and adapted to fold over the front UonsulateGeneml, U. S. A London, Engof the hopper when idle and to be used as a land. 1o chute when lowered, and a slide in the front MAURICE GRAHAM. 

